Removable outsole for sport shoes

ABSTRACT

A removable outsole for sport shoes having cleats mounted thereon. The outsole comprising a rubber or like material having an outer smooth floor engaging surface and toe and heel engaging portion for retaining the out sole on the sport shoe and a plurality of discretely arranged projections on the inner portion thereof which engage with the cleats and assist in retaining the outsole on the sport shoe.

tates Patent 11 1 rown 1 Jan. 7, 1975 REMOVABLE OUTSOLE FOR SPORT2,958,963 ll/l960 Lougheed 36/2.5 AN SHOES 3,313,047 4/1967 Svien 36/25AN [76] Inventor: Ronald E. Brown, 10 N. Quaker Ln., Alexandria, Va.

[22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 420,542

[52] [1.8. Cl 36/2.5 AN, 36/73 [51] llnt. Cl A43b 1/10 [58] Field ofSearch 36/2.5 R, 2.5 AN, 7.1, 36/73 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,811,781 6/1931 Degge 36/25 AN Primary ExaminerPatrick D.Lawson [57] ABSTRACT A removable outsole for sport shoes having cleatsmounted thereon. The outsole comprising a rubber or like material havingan outer smooth floor engaging surface and toe and heel engaging portionfor retaining the out sole on the sport shoe and a plurality ofdiscretely arranged projections on the inner portion thereof whichengage with the cleats and assist in retaining the outsole on the sportshoe.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures REMOVABLE OUTSOLE FOR SPORT SHOES BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION Many sports require the wearing of cleats on theplaying field for providing the wearer of shoes with such cleats withgreater traction. However, when the wearer of such cleated shoes walkson concrete or macadam surfaces, the cleats do not penetrate into thesesurfaces and are in reality very slippery to the wearer of such shoes.Also, club houses, particularly golf club houses, do not permit for thewearer of such cleated shoes into certain designated areas such as thedining room, reception area, and the like, with the results that onewearing such cleated shoes must remove the same before entering intosuch areas and change to uncleated shoes before being admitted intothese restricted areas. As can be appreciated, much wear is occasionedto the cleats when walking on concrete or macadam surfaced areas. Thecleats to function at their very best in affording traction to thewearer thereof must remain in a sharpened or pointed condition so as toenable the same to penetrate into the ground of the playing field.

Numerous attempts have been made to provide a suitable protective solefor cleated shoes, but all such previous attempts have met with somedrawbacks and this has lessened the use of such protective soles.

With the above in mind, it is the primary object of the invention toprovide a protective sole for cleated sport shoes which may be used withthe cleated shoes manufactured by different shoe manufacturersregardless of the exact position of such cleats on the undersurface ofthe sole of the shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective sole forcleated shoes with a surface having a plurality of discretely arrangedprojections which will permit for the cleats on the sport shoe to firmlyengage with such projectionsand to assist in retaining theprotectivesole in proper position on the cleated shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective sole forcleated shoes which may be easily manufactured as by a molding processwhich will form the entire sole in one molding operation thus obviatingthe necessity of further handling of the sole in the manufacturethereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective sole forcleated or spiked shoes which may be easily applied to and removed fromthe cleated or spiked shoe and when not in use may be convenientlyfolded and placed in storage in a golf bag or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a protective sole forspiked or cleated shoeswhich will present a smooth outer surface andwith an inner surface provided with a plurality of discretely arrangedprojections which will automatically accommodate any set of cleats orspikes regardless of the position of such cleats or spikes mounted inthe sole of the shoe.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved device forshielding the spikes or cleats of shoes equipped with suchprotuberances.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cleat or spikeprotective device which may be made at low cost and which is easilystored or carried when not in use.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top plan view of aprotective sole for a sport shoe.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the protective sole applied to a spikedshoe, and,

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in the drawing,reference numeral 10 designates a protective sole for a spiked orcleated shoe constructed in accordance with the present inventiveconcept. The sole may be made of any suitable material such as rubber,plastic, or other suitable material, and the sole may be easilymanufactured as by molding or casting the same in a manner well known inthe shoe industry. The sole is provided with a smooth surface engagingouter sole 11 which may incorporate therein wear-resisting additives toprolong the life of the outsole.

Formed integral with or otherwise secured tothe sole portion 11 are sideflanges 12 and 13, a toe cap 14, and a heel engaging area 15. The sideflanges, toe cap, and heel engaging areas may be made from the samematerial as the sole portion 11 although, if for any reason it is foundmore feasible to employ a different material, the same may be resortedto. The only limitation required as to the material forming theside'flanges, toe

cap, and heel engaging areas of the protective sole is that the materialhave some elasticity in order for these portions of the protective soleto snugly engage with the spiked shoe to which the sole is applied.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 3 of the drawing, a plurality ofupstanding projections 16 are provided on the inside of the sole 10.These projections can be molded integral with the sole or may beotherwise secured theretoJThe projections are discretely arranged on thesole and are slightly spaced apart. The spacing of the projections willpermit for the spikes 18 on a shoe sole 19 to fit between theprojections and in case the spike, due to its location on the sole ofthe shoe, cannot enter into such spacing, the projections being pliablewill permit for a spike to force the projection to one side therebyallowing the spike to contact the upper surface of the sole as shown at17 in FIG. 3 of the drawing. Thus, unlike previously known protectivesole structures for a spiked or cleated shoe, the sole can be used withany spiked shoe, regardless of the location of the spike on the shoe.The spacing of spikes, say, on a golf shoe, may vary with one shoemanufacturer and another so that in previously known structures, it wasnecessary to strategically place the spike receiving openings in theprotective sole in order to accommodate the spiked shoe of onemanufacturer and to make another protective sole with differently-spacedspike openings for the spiked shoes of a different shoe manufacturer. Ascan be appreciated, the above-described sole of the present inventionwill adapt itself to the spiked shoes of any shoe manufacturer.

The toe cap and heel portion being made of a material having a certaindegree of elasticity will permit for the easy application of theprotective sole to a spiked shoe and the same retained thereon purely byreason of the engagement of these portions of the sole with the spikedshoe so that there is no need for extraneous means for securing theprotective sole to a spiked shoe. This, of course, adds to theeconomical manufacture of the protective sole.

Since, on most spiked shoes, the spikes are placed at the heel and thethread portion of the shoe only, the projections, aforesaid, may be leftout at the arch area of the sole as shown at in FIG. 1 of the drawing.

While illustrated and described for use with golf shoes, the protectivesole of this invention may be adapted for use as well with other shoeshaving cleats.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principle of theinvention. Further, since modification and changes will readily occur tothose skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction shown and described, and, accordingly, allsuitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention as claimed.

1 claim:

1. A protective sole for a shoe having spikes secured to the solethereof, said protective sole comprising a smooth outer surface engagingarea, side flanges extending upwardly from said protective sole andextending from adjacent the toe area to the heel portion of theprotective sole, a toe cap and heel engaging areas formed integral withsaid surface engaging area and said flanges and a plurality ofindividual pliable projections formed on the upper surface of saidprotective sole, said projections being spaced longitudinally andlaterally from each other, said projections being randomly positionedand spaced apart to thereby permit entry therebetween the spikes securedto the undersurface of a sole of a shoe and to permit said spikes toengage with the upper surface of said sole.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said projections areprovided at the heel section and thread section of the protective sole.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein the entire protective soleis molded of resilient material.

4. The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said toe cap and heelengaging area are formed of a stretchable material to snugly engage withthe toe and heel portion of a shoe to retain the protective solethereon.

1. A protective sole for a shoe having spikes secured to the solethereof, said protective sole comprising a smooth outer surface engagingarea, side flanges extending upwardly from said protective sole andextending from adjacent the toe area to the heel portion of theprotective sole, a toe cap and heel engaging areas formed integral withsaid surface engaging area and said flanges and a plurality ofindividual pliable projections formed on the upper surface of saidprotective sole, said projections being spaced longitudinally andlaterally from each other, said projections being randomly positionedand spaced apart to thereby permit entry therebetween the spikes securedto the undersurface of a sole of a shoe and to permit said spikes toengage with the upper surface of said sole.
 2. The structure recited inclaim 1 wherein said projections are provided at the heel section andthread section of the protective sole.
 3. The structure recited in claim1 wherein the entire protective sole is molded of resilient material. 4.The structure recited in claim 1 wherein said toe cap and heel engagingarea are formed of a stretchable material to snugly engage with the toeand heel portion of a shoe to retain the protective sole thereon.